


My Heart Belongs to You

by Earthsbestdefender



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Role Swap AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-08-14 13:30:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20193079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Earthsbestdefender/pseuds/Earthsbestdefender
Summary: Accidents happen. Some people move on. Some people blame themselves. Tony is the latter. Steve is the former.





	1. In the beginning

The back window of the car shattered. 

A small hole appeared in the windshield, and a millisecond later pain exploded in Tony’s shoulder.

“Fuck,” Tony swore under his breath.

“Son of a bitch! I thought you said you lost them!” Pepper shouted sitting back up in the passenger seat.

“I thought I did!” Tony growled his response through clenched teeth, trying hard not to let on that he had been shot. Hot blood leaked down his arm. Gunfire exploded a second time from behind them, “Wanna do something about that babe?”

“Already on it,” Pepper growled throwing her into a ponytail.

“It doesn’t have to be perfect honey,” Tony hissed impatiently.

“Sorry sugar cake, but I don’t need my hair getting in my way while I shoot,” Pepper replied with enough poisonous snark to kill an elephant.

“Sorry!”

“Try to drive straight for me, will ya?” Pepper didn’t wait for his reply before leaning out the window with her handgun extended. She rattled off a few shots. The return fire sounded and she tucked herself back into the car to wait it out, “Tony?”

“Hmm?” He was slowly losing interest in speaking words. The pounding in his shoulder was getting worse and making it next to impossible to focus on anything.

“Your bleeding.”

Tony glanced down at his right hand that was coated in blood from where it had leaked down from his shoulder.

“Just a scratch…”

“Scratches don’t bleed that much you dumbass!” Pepper scolded and scooted over so she was sitting on the center console.

“What the hell are you doing Pepp?” Tony demanded tightening his grip on the steering wheel. 

“I am making sure you don’t bleed out,” She explained pulling the first aid kit out of the storage compartment.

“Honey there are more pressing matters to attend to-” Tony shoved her downward and ducked as bullets sprayed against the car.

“Beg to differ, babe,” Pepper said as soon as the gunfire ceased, “You pass out and we crash and die.”

“Yeah, and if someone doesn’t keep those guys back we’ll get shot and die,” Tony argued, “Don’t worry about me.”

“Tony, sweety, if that was an option I would gladly take it, but you would be the kind of person to get shot five times and insist you’re okay,” Pepper replied and leaned across his lap to point her gun out the window and shoot off a few more rounds.

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“Yes, Tony. You have so little regard for your own well being that it actually scares me,” Pepper ducked back into the car and pulled the gauze out of the first aid kit.

“This might hurt a bit. Don’t crash,” With no other warning Pepper popped the lid on a bottle of peroxide and poured it down his shirt.

“Shit!” Tony swore as the liquid stung the bullet wound. He swerved a little.

“What did I say about not crashing?!” As Pepper spoke more stinging pain stung through Tony’s back as she poured more disinfectant on the entrance wound.

“What is wrong with you?!” Tony whined.

“Nothing. I’m fine,” She shoved one of the pieces of gauze under his shirt and pushed it against his wound.

“GAH! Son of a bitch woman! I can actually feel pain, you know!”

“Wow, we are learning more and more about each other every day.”

“Can you just shut up and go back to shooting people? That is so much hotter,” Tony gasped as she shoved another piece of gauze in the back of his shirt.

“Well, you are so much hotter when you are alive,” Pepper smiled and kissed him.

“Pepp I am trying to drive!” Tony reminded her.

“Right,” She moved back to her window and poked her upper body out, “Shit.”

“Shit? What’s shit?!” 

“They’re gone,” Pepper hissed ducking back inside the car.

“What the hell do you mean?!” Tony turned in his seat to look out the back window.

“Tony!” Pepper screamed and grabbed the steering wheel. The car swerved. He looked up just in time to see the grill of the semi-truck smash into his side of the car.

The world spun into a blur as the car whirled around and slammed into the median. 

Sharp stabbing pain and hot blood pumping freely from his body was Tony’s last sensation before his world blurred out.

  
  


“Rogers! What the hell are you still doing on your ass?!” Rhodey shoved his head into Steve’s quarters.

Steve looked from his book and was about to make a quippy comment but the panic in Rhodes’s eyes told him something was wrong.

“What happened?”

“Car wreck on the highway out of Cheyenne,” Rhodes replied still panting.

“And-?”

“One of our agents was airlifted, and the other is M.I.A.”

Steve’s blood froze with the relevance of it. Cheyenne. Highway. Two agents. His sister and Tony were supposed to be coming back from a mission there.

Steve was off his bed and rushing to the door in a second, “Who got airlifted?”

“We don’t know,” Rhodes replied.

Steve knew it was selfish, but he prayed it was Pepper. He knew it was selfish of him to wish that Tony was the one who was missing, but he couldn’t help it. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if his sister wasn’t there.

“The medical chopper is landing at the med bay here.”

“They aren’t taking her to the hospital?” Until he knew for sure he was going to assume that it was his sister. 

“Medical is better here,” Rhodes explained as they sprinted down the hallway of the  shield facility. Rhodes swerved and took a right.

“Short cut,” He explained briefly. 

They exploded into the med bay just before the doors to outside burst open. For split second he believed it was his sister, for that split second he was relieved, he was relieved until he saw the short dark hair. There was red everywhere, but Steve didn’t care. He rushed to the stretcher that was being rushed toward the operating room. He didn’t even consciously throw the doctors out of the way. He just did it. His body was not even really under his control anymore. He grabbed Tony by the shirt.

“Where the hell is my sister?!! Where is she, Tony!!!” He shook Tony hard. The man just gagged and a clot of dark red bubbled out of his mouth, “WHERE THE HELL IS SHE???!!!”

“ROGERS! GET THE FUCK OFF OF HIM!!!” A hand grabbed the back Steve’s shirt and yanked him back. He lost his grip on Tony’s shirt. Suddenly Fury was there barring his way. Steve pushed against the black agent.

“WHERE THE HELL IS PEPPER!!!” Steve screamed and pushed against agent Fury again.

“STEVE SNAP THE FUCK OUT OF IT!!!” A hand struck Steve across the face. He stumbled over in shock and the angry haze that had taken hold of him lifted. Fury shoved him back farther, “What the hell did you think you were doing?!”

“I don’t-” Steve stammered. He honestly didn’t know.

“You could have killed him, you mother fucking idiot!!!”

Steve looked down at his hands and discovered that they were coated in dark red. Blood. His hands were covered in blood. Not just anyone’s blood, the blood of a man who he saw as his brother.

“I-” He met Fury’s burning eyes and his words died in his throat. He snuck a peek around the man, and his eyes went to the small dripped trail of blood that led to the double doors of the O.R.

“Sit down dumbass!” Fury shoved Steve into a chair.

“What about Pepper?” Steve stammered. Fury’s gaze softened a little.

“We’re looking, but beating the shit out of an unconscious guy isn’t going to do anything for anyone,” Fury flopped into the chair next to Steve, “We’ll find Pepper. Don’t worry.”

  
  


Tony blinked his eyes open and instantly wished he hadn’t. The light from the room stabbed into his eyes and sent waves pain flaring through his brain. His whole body throbbed with a low numb pain. Some places hurt more than others, but it was all still just pain. The steady beeping from some machine echoed definingly in his mind and sent pulses of pain through his head with every beep. He uttered another involuntary whimper.

“Hey, you’re okay Tony,” Coulson’s calm voice broke the hazy wall of pain boxing Tony off from the rest of the world. Tony forced his eyes open and met Coulson’s gaze, there was worry written across his furrowed brow, but deep in his eyes was something worse. Tony looked around the room looking for an answer, Steve was standing in the doorway with his head bowed so Tony couldn’t make out the expression his face bore. 

“Where’s Pep?” Tony asked realizing she wasn’t in the room with them.

“She’s gone,” Steve spoke up from where he stood by the door. He lifted his head and Tony could see that his eyes were stained red with tears, “You killed her.”

Before Tony could fully react or process, Steve slipped out of the room.

“What did he me?” Tony choked turning his gaze to Coulson who looked away from him, “what was he talking about?!”

“It wasn’t your fault Tony,” Coulson mumbled still refusing to meet Tony’s gaze.

“She can’t be dead!” Tony cried, “That’s not… She can’t be…”

Coulson rested his hand gently on Tony’s, “I’m sorry Tony.”


	2. Chapter 2

_ Five years later... _

Bruce sipped nervously at his champagne. He really hated being the CEO of his company. He liked the money benefits that came from running a multi-billion-dollar company, and he even liked the company itself. He loved getting down and dirty with the new medical developments. It was his life dream. Running countless labs for research and development. He loved helping patients, and even doing pro bono trips to hospitals all over the world and giving them funding, helping children, and cancer patients. He loved all of the work that went into the company, all that is except for the benefits for all of the rich investors. He hated fake socialization.

“Dr. Banner may I introduce to you to Mr. Stane,” Helen Cho asked tapping Bruce on the shoulder.

“Um… sure,” Bruce coughed choking on the bubbly alcohol in his hand.

“This is Mr. Stane,” Helen guided Bruce around so he was facing a tall bald man.

“Bruce Banner,” Bruce extended his hand for the man to shake it.

“Obadiah Stane,” The man took Bruce’s hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Pleasure is all mine,” Bruce smiled politely at the man who now that he was thinking about it the man gave him the willies.

He needed to escape.

Bruce searched the crowd just beyond the man for someone who looked interesting to talk to so he could escape from the mountain of a man going on about some golf thing. He found no one. Then the god of excuses came to him. In the darkest times, it was always there for him.

“Pardon the interruption, but I need to pop off to the men’s room,” Bruce interrupted Stane’s story.

“Oh-oh alright.”

Bruce ducked away from the heeby-jeebies guy (that was what he was going to call him now).

To Bruce’s relief, he found the bathroom empty. He walked past the urinals and plopped himself down in a chair who’s purpose Bruce did not know.

“Well this is odd,” Bruce looked up in surprise as a man stepped out of one of the bathroom stalls. The only thing about him that was not average, was his goatee that was exceptionally well kept and the most expressive brown eyes Bruce had ever seen, “The restroom is empty and yet he does not use it.”

“Can help you?” Bruce sighed.

“Nope. That’s my job.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow.

The man folded his arms across his chest.

“How is that?” Bruce questioned.

The man sighed and looked disinterestedly at his fingernails, “I am going to get you out of this miserable party alive.”

“And why wouldn’t I be able to do that on my own? I have made it through hundreds of these.”

The man lifted an eyebrow, “Yes, but none quite like I fear this one will turn out to be.”

“What do you mean?” Bruce demanded.

“I mean how much faith do you have in your security and staff? Because I assure you it is too much.”

“What do you-”

“I am an agent from SHIELD sent here to protect you and bring you in alive and in one relative piece.”

“W-Why?”

“Because if you tried to get through the next few hours on your own you will most likely finish the night in a black body bag.”

Bruce rose to his feet indignantly.

“Who the hell do you think you are?!”

The man just pinched his eyebrows in frustration, “I am a government agent. There are people here who want you dead. I am here to make sure they don't dead you.”

Everything this man was saying made Bruce feel very inclined to think he was the one he needed to worry about. That inclination only grew when screams and gunfire erupted from outside, and the man didn’t so much as flinch.

“Well, that would be our cue,” The man poked his head out the door. Bruce was not proud of what he did next. He picked up the chair, and as the man turned back around he smashed it over his head. The man looked both shocked and stunned for a brief second before toppling over. 

Bruce immediately set to work searching this strange man. He discovered a concealed gun and zip-ties. He took the gun and used the zip ties to fasten the man’s hands together, and then he waited, flinching every time a gun went off from beyond the door.

“Well I wasn’t expecting that,” The man sat up groggily.

“You are going to answer my questions,” Bruce ordered, and cocked the gun. Fear danced into the man’s cool gaze.

“Buddy! You need to put the gun down!” The man held his hands up.

“No! You need to answer my questions! How did you know this attack was going to happen?”

“Look! You really need to get the finger off the trigger of that gun! One tiny stumble and I am toast, or parts of me are toast.”

“Answer the question!”

The man opened his mouth to speak, snapped his head around as the handle to the door began to spin.

“Shit.”

Faster than lightning the man’s legs swept out and knocked Bruce’s legs out from under him in a second. Both he and the gun hit the floor. The door opened and the agent was barrelling onto the intruder before the man even came into full view. The door closed behind them. Bruce sat up and rubbed his head. Muffled shouts and bangs came from just beyond the door followed by silence. Bruce lifted the gun as the door handle wiggled, and the door opened.

“Don’t shoot! It’s just the guy you hit with the chair!” The supposed SHIELD agent stepped into the room. He looked ruffled, and slightly annoyed; his bloody zip tied hands were raised above his head.

“Sit back down!” Bruce ordered keeping the gun trained on him.

“Really wish I could, but that guy is not going to be the last person who comes to kill you,” The agent lowered his bound hands, “Now we can do this the easy way where you give me back my gun and we both make our way to the parking garage, or we can do it the hard way where I sedate you and carry you down to my waiting car and then we still go to SHIELD.”

“Or what if I shoot you and make my own escape.”

“Then I will likely as not die on this bathroom floor, and you will probably die before reaching the lobby.”

Bruce hesitated. He had a feeling that this man was right and that he would not make it out of the building without help. Against his better judgement, Bruce agreed.

“Fine. But if you pull something-”

“Dr. Banner, if I were here to kill you would have been dead before you entered this bathroom,” The agent stated, “Now hurry up and please give me my gun back.”

“Do you me to cut your zip ties?”

“Nah,” The man shrugged lifting his arms in the air and bringing them down and back with great speed and force against his chest. The zip tie broke.

“That’s- how did you-?” 

“A trick everyone should know,” The agent smiled and took his gun from Bruce’s hands, “Works for duct tape too.”

“Good to know-” Bruce said hesitantly.

“Alright doctor, please follow me,” The agent poked his head out of the door, “Coast is clear let’s move.”

“Okay here is how this going to work,” The agent spoke briskly as Bruce waddled along behind his fast pace, “I want you to walk in a straight line at an even pace. No ducking or swerving around, keep your pace the same. Let me move around you. Don’t try to accommodate my movements."

“Okay…”

“But make sure and tell me what you see,” The Agent said quickly and slipped in front of Bruce peaked around the corner just ahead of them, and then spun gracefully back behind him, “To pairs of eyes are better than one.”

“Um, there is a guy!” 

The agent did not even falter. He grabbed Bruce around the arm shoved him around a corner, and fired off one round at the oncoming man who toppled to the ground, dead before a sound could escape his mouth.

“And back on track, we go,” The agent shoved Bruce back out into the hallway.

“Do I get to know your name?”

“I suppose so. Call me Stark for now,” The agent responded and slid into position in front of him. Bruce glanced over his shoulder and did a double-take.

“Um there are guys behind us-”

“Shit,” Stark swore and shoved Bruce down another hallway, “Get in that elevator.”

Bruce obeyed. The door opened just as gunfire exploded down the hallway. Stark shoved Bruce to the side and slid into the elevator just as the doors closed.

“Down?” Bruce guessed. It made sense if they were going to the parking garage.

“Yes, but not like that,” Stark said jumping up and pulling the vent above them down.

“What- what do you mean?”

“We are going down the fast way,” Stark explained pulling himself up the vent.

“But isn’t being out in the shaft dangerous?”

“Don’t argue. I have been doing stuff like this since I was eight.”

Eight??? He had been doing life-threatening shit since he was eight??? Who the hell were this guy’s parents? Bruce thought he should like to give them a talking to.

“Who the hell raised you?!”

“SHIELD, now please get your ass up before those guys bust in the door.”

Bruce obeyed and allowed Stark to pull him up through the vent.

“Alright good doctor let’s get you down this shaft,” Tony spoke in a cheerful tone.

“Can I ask why we aren’t just riding that thing down?” Bruce asked weakly.

“Elevators are very easy to hack, so we are just going to climb down the maintenance ladder. It’ll lead straight to the garage.”

“I hate this idea.”

“Never said you had to like it,” Tony pulled his headlamp out of his suit pocket, and flicked it on.

“Let’s go, buddy,” He clapped Bruce on the back, and stood next to the ladder that lead down.

“You realize we are 80 stories up, right?”

“Better get cracking then!” Tony smiled, “Ladies first.”

“Oh hell no!”

“Yes! I’ll shine my headlamp down so you can see,” Tony gestured to their rout down.

Dr. Banner grumbled something under his breath and climbed onto the metal pegs. Tony climbed after him, and they both made their way down into the deadly blackness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have a specific posting schedule for this. I just do it whenever. I'll try to remember. If it's been a few days just bug me about on here or @love-howard-potts-3000 on Tumblr.


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